Tax hikes would be phased in

Tuesday

Apr 30, 2013 at 9:23 AM

Property owners whose annual tax assessments increase by 15 percent or more in one year would be allowed to pay that increase over a three-year period, under a measure approved Monday by the House Ways and Means Committee.

Property owners whose annual tax assessments increase by 15 percent or more in one year would be allowed to pay that increase over a three-year period, under a measure approved Monday by the House Ways and Means Committee.The proposal, brought by House Speaker Chuck Kleckley, R-Lake Charles, attempts to give business and homeowners an adjustment period to pay the new amount. The bill would allow for splitting the total increase and paying one-third of it annually on top of the base amount of the tax bill, he said.“It’s fair to the taxpayer. It’s fair to the citizens the state of Louisiana,” Kleckley said. “At the end of the third year their full assessments will be paid.”Currently, tax bills are sent out around the first of December and are due in full by the end of the month. Kleckley said he and other elected officials received calls from Calcasieu Parish residents on fixed-incomes who could not afford to pay tax bills that had doubled.The phase-in would not apply to new construction or remodeling that increases the value of the house, Kleckley said.In addition, the bill would prohibit taxing bodies from increasing millages during the phase-in period as a way to recoup any decrease in the amount of taxes collected.The bill, which moves to the House floor, was approved by the committee without objection. If approved by the House and Senate, the constitutional change would need approval from voters in November 2014.